Bono didn’t write the words he says during that ESPN/FIFA World Cup TV commercial that features his voice. That’s one of the interesting bits of information in an interview on Examiner.com with ESPN’s Seth Ader.
Ader explains that ESPN approached U2 last fall:
We just believe in their message, not only their music, but their message. It just feels like the most global and far-reaching sound and voice for any global event, so we went to them again, said we’d like to do another deal. The wrinkle that I proposed was that we would add in the Soweto Gospel Choir into the U2 music so that it gave the music more of an African flavor. The band believed in that as well, and in promotion you’ll hear the Soweto Gospel Choir in the Robben Island spot….
Ader also says U2 provided some feedback on the usage of the band’s music (there are a handful of U2 songs being used), and that they were “the utmost professionals and great to work with.” He also talked about showing Bono the script for his voiceover in one of the commercials, a script that sounds almost exactly like what Bono would’ve written himself — but he didn’t write it.
When we presented it to Bono, who does the voice-over, he kind of smiled and said, ‘Did I write that?’ Because it’s his voice, it’s his point of view and that’s why he was so agreeable to help us do the voiceover.
Look for one new commercial to start airing this week, and another to begin airing next week.